Chance me for UChicago transfer (Fall 2019)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
1

Rejected ED2 for the fall of 2018, figured I’d try again for the Fall 2019

Applying as a Philosophy major, and will not be submitting my ACT scores.

Current Stats:

School: Wells College (small liberal arts college in NY, #168 in NLAC rankings)
Major(s): Economics and Philosophy
Minor(s): Political Science
GPA (Fall 2018): 3.675

Courses/Grades (Fall 2018):

ECON101- Intro. Macroeconomics: B
ECON102- Intro. Microeconomics: A
PHIL240- Ethics: A-
WLLS100- Wellness & Lifelong Learning: A (required freshman seminar)
MATH111- Calculus I: W (I had a research opportunity that required me to drop 4cr worth of classes, this was the only one I could drop. However, this withdrawal won’t show up on my transcript since I am taking it in the spring)

Additionally, I will be submitting by transcript from my local community college at which I was dual-enrolled during high school;

HIST201- US History I: A+
HIST202- US History II: A+
BUS201- Business Law I: A
ENGL101- Academic Writing II: B+

GPA (Cumulative): 3.85

Courses (Spring 2019):

POLS360- The US Judiciary
INTL151- Intro. International Relations (Taught by some big-wig in the field of Political Economy, works for the UN, cool dude)
MATH111- Calculus I
MATH151- Elementary Statistics
ECON306- Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
ECON290- Internship in Economics (4cr. Research internship, helping write a book with a renowned ecological economist)

Extracurriculars:

  1. Founded a harm-reduction group on campus that provides safe-use information and a designated driver service
  2. Assisted/Participated in a conference for the International Society for Biophysical Economics
  3. Economic Research in the field of Ecological Economics which will culminate into a book published by Springer
  4. Reads about a book a week (not sure if this counts as an EC)
  5. Tutor in Microeconomics
  6. Tutor in Macroeconomics
  7. College Democrats
  8. College Republicans (did both, I’m an independent so it’s nice to have perspectives on both sides)
  9. Writing an introductory Microeconomics text for non-econ majors that will be freely available online
  10. Model United Nations
  11. I run an economics resource site to assist those enrolled in introductory economics courses.

Academic Honors:

Presidential Scholar (One of the schools highest scholarships, 2nd or 3rd highest idk)
Deans List

HIGH SCHOOL STATS:

School: Small, Rural, Public
GPA: 2.9-3.0
Rank: 26/43

EC’s:

Rotary Club (Treasurer)
Cornell University Upward Bound (TRIO program)
Volunteer at the local public library
Tutor in Business Law
Tutor in US History
Tutor in World History
Team manager for modified girls volleyball
All-County choir

Any critiques, tips, or comments are highly appreciated!

2

If important; URM (Latino) and Low Income (~9k/yr family of 4)

3

Financial aid for transfers is typically lower as compared to new freshman. Not sure how UChicago handles transfer financial aid, but please do keep this in mind.

4

@sgopal2 I didn’t know there was a difference. I’ll look into it, thank you!

5

To be completely honest, I believe the AO might realize your actually going to study economics. Why are you applying for philosophy if nearly all your courses and extracurriculars fit a certain model?

6

I started studying Economics, and while I absolutely loved it, I feel as though my interests are better-served studying philosophy. The reason I didn’t take any philosophy classes this semester is that the only one offered is the one I already took. My college is very small, and currently, there is only one faculty member of the entire philosophy dept. not on sabbatical (same for the economics dept.). My main interests are Legal/Political Philosophy which are interests my college cannot accommodate.

7

Everything I type below should be outweighed by “You never know if you don’t try and you will never be accepted if you don’t apply.”

Transfers into the UChicago (insert any elite school) are tougher than getting in in the first place. You have to have some exceptional reason for the school to want you. Put that on top of the fact that UChicago had a few more people accept their acceptance the past couple years, probably more people accepted and encouraged to take a gap year, and the chances can’t be any better.

Things that could help your case: A current college professor who has taken you under his/her wing and is willing to write an exceptional LOR. Even better if that professor has connections with the UChicago. I’m not sure if you have to write essays for a transfer application (probably do). Those essays need to be concise and articulate and point to how “You + UChicago = World a Better Place.”

8

Luckily, I have secured some excellent letters of recommendation. one of which is a graduate of UChicago. I still have yet to write my essays, but I will take your advice to heart. Thank you!

9

With regards as to WHY I want to transfer. here is one of my supplements for Brown which outlines the reasons (I will share this with UChicago as well;

"My situation is very unique, when I applied to Wells I knew it would be a small institution. In fact, that was a big part of its appeal. However, the size has proven to be more of an impediment than it has been an asset (>500 students across all years). The philosophy and economics departments are incredibly small, each only employing two faculty members. In regard to the philosophy department, the department head is on sabbatical leaving only one faculty member left who only teaches one course. This means that I, and every other philosophy major, are unlikely to be able to take the classes necessary to satisfy the major. Normally, this would only be a temporary concern. Except the department head is unlikely to return and other faculty members have expressed to me a concern that Wells will not hire a replacement. Further, the course selection is incredibly limited, and the curriculum offers no courses in Political or Legal philosophy (the two areas I am most interested in.) If I were to stay, I would likely not be able to continue my education in philosophy.

With regard to the Economics department, I believe in conjunction with a lack of course selection that severely restricts my ability to truly explore the subject, I have exhausted all the resources the department makes available to students. Even so, I find myself unsatisfied. Wells is a lovely institution situated in a beautiful location, however, even the sunset over the lake shines pale in radiance to the shortcomings of the programs and student life in general. Wells caters to a very particular kind of student, to which I applaud it. Unfortunately, I do not fall into this category. Additionally, the cost of attendance is becoming too much of a burden for me and my family to bear."

10

I think your reasoning is good except for the very last line. That will not help your case anywhere. May be honest, but colleges aren’t really charities and the places you are applying to, while won’t go looking for your financial situation, if you tell them right out will take that into consideration.

So UChicago, Brown (I suspect this is your safety, Just Kiddding that’s an inside joke). Where else are you applying and what state is your state of residence?

11

You have expressed clearly the reasons you want to transfer out, so that’s good. Also maybe include more about why you’d like to go to UChicago.

12

I just joined cc so I apologize for any kind of newbie mistakes I make in my interjection here. If there’s a better way I should go about having my question replied to feel free to let me know, I was just looking at various threads and I felt like this was relevant to my own situation. @BrianBoiler, I noticed that you’re repping Purdue University and I was wondering if you had any insight in the comparison between Purdue and UChicago. I’m seeking to transfer from a smaller UWisc school to one of a few different Universities. I’ve been admitted to Purdue for next Fall (2019), but I would be paying out of state tuition, and I would need to put down the $400 down payment by May 1st. I applied to UChicago as a long shot, as would be expected by any elite university, so I’m going by the “You never know if you don’t try and you will never be accepted if you don’t apply.” mindset. My issue is, I’m not sure how to decide going about the UChicago decision which would come out in “early May”, which would be a conflict considering I’d need to commit to Purdue or another school by then. I’ve applied to UW Madison, Marquette, Purdue, Northwestern, and UChicago. I have been admitted to Marquette and Purdue so far, and Purdue is where I would like to go at this current moment. I’m studying Mathematics and I hope to go onto Graduate school, so I want to ensure that I attend an undergraduate institution that will give me great options for graduate school (will Purdue give me these?). I suppose my main questions would be: Should I even consider another school or just commit to Purdue? Is UChicago worth going back on my $400 commitment to Purdue once the decision comes out in May? Just how unlikely are my chances of actually getting into UChicago (is it more in reach than I’d planned)? I can supply my GPA and the necessary information for you to answer my questions if you’d like. Also, I sincerely had no intention of posting this in another’s thread if I should just have created my own instead, I just saw that there was someone in a UChicago thread with Purdue as their profile picture and I thought there may be some link. If I should take these questions somewhere else I would not be offended if you told me to do so, I mean no insult to the OP. I’m just curious and I’ve had a hard time looking for answers to my questions, any advice is appreciated.

13

A little background about me. I’ve two Purdue degrees and my middle son goes to UChicago. I also have an MBA from Kellogg (Northwestern).

You can absolutely get a great math undergrad at every school you list that will allow you into a great graduate program assuming you do your part in your undergrad. Northwestern is probably the most reputable school you list after UChicago, but I don’t think it is so far ahead of the others. I don’t know much about Marquette. I assume you are currently a Wisconsin resident? If you get into Madison, that will most likely be your best value (most bang for your buck) school.

All that being said, UChicago is in my opinion the best undergraduate education one can get in America (most likely the world, but I have no datapoints in the Oxbidge area). Not because of the ranking, but because of the philosophy that they teach you not what to think, but how to think. They have a reputation for being the school that puts out the best prepared educators and most that go there, go there with an eye towards graduate school. This is my opinion of course against my personal criteria. There will be many people who disagree with my statement, but we all are entitled to our opinions.

If I were in your shoes, stay the course. If you can get into UChicago as a transfer (very very tough to do), you should consider waiving your $400. But if not, try to apply some of the things that make UChicago education great at where ever you end up.

14

@BrianBoiler,

Thank you for your response! Yes, I am a Wisconsin resident and being low income and Latino I’d likely qualify for the Bucky Tuition Promise which would provide a good amount of tuition. I’ve got about a 3.76 Cumulative GPA as of the end of the Fall semester, the most recent two semesters I had a 4.0 in each, and I’m hoping to repeat that result this semester as well (leaving with a GPA of ~3.8 ish). During my first year of college I worked full time with a course load of around 17 credits per semester. I’m participating in Number Theory research, I’ve got a few groups and an honor society which I regularly participate in. I also obtained an internship last summer and another for this upcoming summer, the latter is an Actuarial Internship. As with many others I’ve got a back story and reasoning to explain why I seek transfer admission, but I’m sure this is standard among many applicants. I’ve taken a plethora of rigorous courses, including the Physics sequence, Calculus sequence, Abstract/Proof mathematics, Econ, Accounting, Stats, etc. and I came in with almost 30 credits as a freshman due to some AP courses and such (mainly Social Studies and Spanish based). Many people are not fond of math, and some are not even sure about what UChicago is (my family, friends, etc.). It’s been tough for me to gauge where I stand: “non-competitive”, “competitive”, “highly competitive”. Typically people will tell me they don’t think I can get in and think application is a waste of time, or some will tell me they truly think I could be there next Fall, this is leads me to have no clue as to where I truly stand. I typically keep my head down and don’t try to compare myself to others, so honestly I have no clue about the typical group that applies to UChicago, perhaps they’re similar to me? Or perhaps they make me look like I’m nothing? I’m curious, in your honest opinion where do you think I stand? As to UW Madison, I do like the school of course, but I find myself drawn to the others. I will also note that my girlfriend attends Purdue and has heavily pushed for me to attend there, but I’ve tried to make my decision separate from the fact that she’s there. People say that the debt that can be accumulated is crippling, she is from my hometown so I know she has it way worse than I do, but she’s also Pre-Med. I figure that I’d enjoy my time at the universities that aren’t Madison, and I’m trying to decide between “sucking it up” for another two years and saving the money, or the “enjoy your undergraduate years, go where you’ll be happy” mentality. What are your thoughts?

15

So will you be transferring in as a Junior? I am not really sure how that works at UChicago. I’ve two boys in college. My oldest is at a big state flagship. University of Maryland as an OOS. He started with 29 AP credits and basically started his career as a Sophmore (1 Credit short). My second son actually had more AP classes than my oldest (both scored mostly 5s), but UChicago only accepted 4 classes (units) worth. They have a rule about having to complete so many units (what others call credits) on campus (it is on the website). It is confusing because since they are on quarters, every class they count as one unit (credit). I don’t know, but suspect that same rule applies to transfers.

Additionally, all of the “they teach you how to think” stuff I mention happens in the “Core.” The “Core” is what 1st and 2nd years take, if you come in as a Junior (if my above assumptions are false), you basically miss what I think the benefit is to going to UChicago is, the wide Liberal Arts classical education. I’m sure you’d get taught great things.

Other options include staying where you are and going to a great grad school, like UChicago, Wisconsin, Purdue, Northwestern, or the great many others. It sounds like you are extremely bright and would do well.

As far as your chances? I really have no idea. I don’t know of any specific case of a transfer into UChicago. I know it happens, I just don’t have anything to offer you as a comparison.

Hope that helps.

16

vb-reading your story I wish you the best of luck. UChicago should accept you. One thought: you definitely will not haventhe option if you don’t try.

17

Unfortunately it looks like OP’s original thread was hikacked…a moderater should split the 2.

18

I think the OP has long since left the building.

19

sike, you thought!

20

@BrianBoiler,

Thank you again for your response, and they all definitely help. I’m very glad to have just heard your opinions on the matters. Your sons sound very bright as well, I hope they are killing it at their respective universities and I wish you and them the best!

@kaukauna,

Thank you very much! I’ll take all of the luck I can get haha. I notice your name is of a city nearby to me, I don’t know if that was your intention but it’s an interesting coincidence. Best of luck to you as well.

-vbstrvctchicvno